<%@ page contentType="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" language="java" import="java.sql.*" errorPage="" %>
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<title>Collegian • Sports •</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<link href="../../../../../stylesheets/collegianstyle.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<link href="../../../../../stylesheets/links.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
</head>
<body>
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="575">
<!-- fwtable fwsrc="thecollegian.png" fwbase="thecollegian.jpg" fwstyle="Dreamweaver" fwdocid = "742308039" fwnested="0" -->
<tr>
<td colspan="3"><a href="../../../../../default.html"><img name="banner_main" src="../../../../../images/banner/banner_main.jpg" width="575" height="58" border="0" alt="The Collegian"></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="10" valign="top"></td>
<td width="343" valign="bottom"><p class="date"><a href="default.html">4/2/04 • Vol.
128, No. 29</a></p></td>
<td width="222" valign="top"><a href="../../../../../default.html"><img name="banner_rtcorner" src="../../../../../images/banner/banner_rtcorner.jpg" width="222" height="17" border="0" alt=""></a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table width="575" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="topnav">
<tr>
<td id="topnav"><p><a href="../../../../../default.html">Home</a>
<jsp:include page="../../../../nav/sports.jsp" flush="true" />
<a href="../../../../../gallery">Gallery</a> <a href="../../../../../advertise">Advertise</a> <a href="../../../../../archive">Archive</a> <a href="../../../../../aboutus">About
Us</a></p>
</td></tr>
</table>
<table width="575" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="storyText">
<tr align="left" valign="top">
<td>
<table width="150" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" id="storiesnav">
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" id="storiesnav"> <a href="default.jsp">Sports</a> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top"><p><a href="scott.jsp">Pitching with
the family in mind</a></p>
<p><a href="football.jsp">Bulldogs conclude practice</a></p>
<p><a href="intramurals.jsp">Team 2 takes intramural title</a></p></td>
</tr>
</table>
<h1><font size="5">Pitching with the family in mind</font></h1>
<p class="subhead">Former Bulldogs pitcher Amanda Scott signed to play professional
softball and will be joined by her sister Courtney on the New York/New Jersey
Juggernaut</p>
<p class="byline">By Zack Walton</p>
<table width="100" border="0" align="right" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="storyText" id="teasterbox">
<tr>
<td><p><a href="scott.jpg"><img src="scott.jpg" alt="" name="Photo" width="199" height="309" border="1" style=""></a></p>
<p align="justify">Former Fresno State standout Amanda Scott signed
a professional softball contract with the New York/New Jersey Juggernaut,
which begins spring training for the new National Pro Fastpitch
league on May 17. Scott, a four-time first-team All-American, led
the Bulldogs to a national championship in 1998. </p>
<p class="byline">-Photo courtesy of Fresno State Athletic Media
Relations</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table> <p>Amanda Scott is driven by passion
and love to play softball. </p>
<p> But it’s not passion or love for the sport that drives her to pursue
a professional career— it’s the passion to take the field alongside
her sister and the love that the two of them share.</p>
<p> Scott, a former four-time NCAA first-team All-American pitcher at Fresno
State, recently signed a contract to play with the New York/New Jersey
Juggernaut—one of the eight teams in the new National Pro Fastpitch
league.</p>
<p> Scott attributes her interest in playing in the women’s softball
league to the fact her sister Courtney will be a member of the same team.</p> <p> “
I’m very excited to play with my sister,” Scott said. “About
99 percent of the reasoning behind playing [in the professional softball
league] is because she will be there; it will be a great opportunity.”</p>
<p> A former Clovis High standout, Scott played her senior season along side
her sister—who was a freshman—before going to college, and
said she has thought about the two of them sharing a dugout again ever
since. </p>
<p> The Scott sisters went to different schools to pursue their collegiate
careers—as Amanda became a Bulldog and Courtney played at California.
But the two shared similar success—both becoming members of a national
championship team and both earning All-American honors. And now, they both
become members of the Juggernaut. </p>
<p> Though, after graduating from Fresno State in 2000, Scott had decided
playing softball was not something she wanted to do.</p>
<p> “I no longer had the drive to play,” Scott said. “I was done
with the sport and had felt like I played long enough. After I finished my career
at Fresno State, I never thought I would play again.”</p>
<p> A surprising statement for an athlete who set new standards for achieving
greatness on the softball diamond. </p> <p> For four years, Scott assaulted would-be hitters—as well as the record
books—leaving in her wake, a trail of disappointed batters and statistical
lists littered with her name. </p>
<p> Scott graces not only the Fresno State record book, but also the Western
Athletic Conference’s and NCAA’s. </p>
<p> She also is the recipient of a plethora of awards and distinctions, including
one of the most prestigious honors that can be given to a collegiate athlete—the
NCAA Top VIII Award, which is given to the top eight senior student-athletes
at any college level who demonstrated outstanding achievements in athletics,
academics, character, leadership and activities.</p>
<p> A brief look at some of her other accomplishments includes: </p>
<p> •
Leading Fresno State to the 1998 NCAA title (the university’s first Division
I team title in any sport)</p>
<p> •
Two-time Fresno State and WAC female athlete of the year</p>
<p> •
Two-time All-College World Series Team—1998 MVP</p>
<p> •
Two-time NCAA individual ERA champion</p>
<p> •
A career record of 106-18 with 68 shutouts, 10 saves, 871.0 IP, 851 strikeouts
and a 0.55 ERA.</p>
<p> And that’s just a brief list of the many achievements throughout her collegiate
career, which earned her a No. 2 spot on the Top 25 list of the Central Valley’s
Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century, as voted by fans.</p>
<p> “
I felt as though I had accomplished everything I wanted to achieve in my career,” Scott
said. “I thought it was a good time to move on and get a real job—and
start my life.”</p>
<p> Scott is currently in her second season as an assistant softball coach
with Michigan State, after working as an editorial and production intern
for the Women’s
Sports Foundation and as a softball analyst for ESPN radio and AT&T/Media
One Television. </p>
<p> After graduating from Fresno State with a degree in Communication, Scott
began working on her graduate degree at Michigan State, while teaching
those who are
in the same position she was only a few years ago.</p>
<p> Scott began playing softball after constant exposure to baseball fields
because of her father, who is in his 14th season as Fresno City College
baseball coach.
She said her mother used to always drive her and her sister around to practices—and
Amanda practiced with one of the best.</p>
<p> Since age nine, Scott practiced with local softball legend Leroy Zimmerman,
learning about pitching and life. </p> <p> “
Mr. Zimmerman taught me so much—to work hard and practice hard,” Scott
said. “He was a good person, with a good soul. He just believed in the
basics.”</p>
<p> Those basics, which were instilled in Scott, took her talents and set
her apart from all of those she faced.</p>
<p> “
I remember being nine years old, and going to learn to pitch from this man who
was in his 60s for no charge. I would just have to rake the pit in the backyard
after I was done.” Scott said. “He would be sitting in his chair
watching me pitch and he made me so strong and gave me such confidence. I used
to always say ‘I need my Mr. Z fix.’”</p>
<p> “
I adored him—he was such a pillar—I listened to everything he had
to say and ate out of his hand,” Scott said, with a choked-up reclamation. “He
taught me the mental game, which I always thought was my biggest strength.”</p>
<p> Scott has taken her mental game and moved it into coaching, serving as
a mentor to the Michigan State pitching staff. Scott has gained a new perspective
by being
on the outside looking in and enjoys her new spot in the stadium.</p>
<p> “
I laugh all the time because I think ‘I’m so sorry for how I acted
towards my coaches,’” Scott said. “It is frustrating sometimes
coaching because things are out of your hands; you can’t go out there and
play. But I get to influence someone’s life everyday. I could do this for
a while.”</p>
<p> For now, Scott will have to put her coaching career on hold. As of May
17, she and the rest of the women of NPF report to spring training, for
the league’s
inaugural season.</p> <p> “
I’m going into this season, seeing how the year goes,” Scott said. “I’m
just excited about the experience and opportunity.</p>
<p> Scott may not have to worry about whether she wants a career in playing
softball, or in coaching it. The NPF does not have history on its side
when it comes
to the chance of the league surviving.</p>
<p> Professional softball leagues have been attempted in the past—never once
lasting more than a few years.</p>
<p> In 1976, the International Women’s Professional Softball Association was
formed and folded four years later. The league, which was founded by former LPGA
Tour member Janie Blaylock, softball legend Joan Joyce and women’s tennis
icon Billie Jean King, originally featured 10 teams across the nation—later
expanding into Canada. </p>
<p> The fledgling league lasted until 1980, when lack of money, high travel
costs and inadequate facilities forced the league to shut down.</p> <p> Another league began in 1997, when the Women’s Professional Softball League
opened with six teams. The league experienced much of the same problems and was
suspended indefinitely after the 2000 season.</p>
<p> Scott, who has not played competitively since her last pitch at Fresno
State, is positive about women’s professional softball getting another chance. </p>
<p> “
I’m optimistic about the way things are being done this time around,” Scott
said. “The talent level is amazing and the competition will be unbelievable.”</p>
<p> Scott also feels there are many differences with this league that will
prove beneficial in the attempt to survive. She highlights the increasing
interest
in softball nationally over the past few years, a contract to televise games,
the Olympics and the fact that there is no more women’s soccer league,
as reasons the for the NPF to succeed.</p>
<p> But the biggest reason, according to Scott, is each of the teams are
individually owned—just as Major League Baseball teams are. This way, teams can be run
individually instead of each team being controlled by the league.</p>
<p> Scott also said she believes that the league she is now a member of will
be able to be successful, when other associations like it have failed,
because of behind-the-scene
stories—such as the one of her and her sister.</p>
<p> “
There are several stories about women in our league that will raise interest
in our sport,” Scott said. “With the players we have, all we have
to do is get the fans hooked first, then we reel them in.”</p></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table width="575" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" id="footer">
<tr align="center">
<td colspan="2"> </td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<td id="footer" colspan="2"><p><a href="javascript:history.go(-1);">Back</a> <a href="../../../../../aboutus/disclaimer.html"> Disclaimer</a> <a href="../../../../../aboutus/policy.html">Policy</a></p>
</td></tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>